During turkey mating season, male turkeys (gobblers) may court female turkeys (hens). In a courting ritual, a gobbler will often puff out his feathers, spread out and raise his tail feathers, and drag his wings on the ground. This behavior is sometimes referred to as strutting, and is a gobbler's attempt to attract hens and display dominance to other male turkeys in the area. Gobblers are often defensive of their mating territory, and they may confront and attack an intruding gobbler, particularly if the intruding gobbler is strutting.
Hunters often use turkey decoys to attract gobblers to come within shooting range. A gobbler decoy may draw a real gobbler in to protect his territory, and a strutting decoy may be a very effective type of decoy in these situations. To be effective, a strutting decoy should look realistic. One disadvantage of some turkey decoys is that they do not look realistic. Another disadvantage of many turkey decoys is that they are large, bulky, and difficult to carry in the field while hunting.